X26’s Visit to Huddersfield University

26th February 2024Melissa Cocliff

No punchy title this time… but it was an awesome day out at Huddersfield University!

On Friday, we had the opportunity to take our incredible Y11’s to visit the campus at Huddersfield. During the visit, we were greeted with a number of smiley student ambassadors who had given up their time to work with us and share their stories, we took part in an ‘A-Z of courses’ quiz (although, as a team, staff were cheated out of the prizes… it was definitely a fix!!!). There was some surprise at finding there are over 40,000 higher education courses to choose from, and most people thought the accommodation with free gym membership and transport looked like a bargain!

Following this, an informative lecture about Nazi Germany gave pupils the opportunity to interact with an expert about a key element of their GCSE study. Their history teacher would have been very proud to hear the pupils forming convincing arguments about Nazi propaganda and the other factors that played a part in Hitler’s rise to power. Their ability to confidently draw on their background knowledge to deal with new source material was impressive.

We then spent some time in a workshop on budgeting (I think I learned the most here!!) and after lunch, we were taken on a tour of campus and saw some mind-blowing facilities. Here, we saw a state of the art Gym (Kolby was super impressed!), tech-y biomedical science labs, a HUGE library, an old mill conversion, a 350-seat lecture theatre, and a ‘hospital set up’ where student nurses were expected to take care of £45,000 mannequins – who acted as if they were real hospital patients. What a night shift that would be!

Pupils also had plenty of opportunity to quiz the student ambassadors about student life. Questions such as “‘what happens if you fail or don’t do well in a module, can you resit?” and “how many lectures do you have each week?” kept the ambassadors on their toes… they all expected questions about how often they could party! Everyone was very impressed with the facilities and one person said they were ‘mesmerised’ by the scenic working canal and locks running through the middle of campus. We even rated them 4.8/5 stars for the day overall!

All in all, each member of Y11 needs to be appreciated for their impeccable conduct throughout the day. Ambassadors commented on how ‘down to earth’ and respectful our students were during the day. We hope you all got a lot out of the visit – we certainly LOVED the day with X26. What phenomenal humans you really are!

Miss Cocliff, Ms. Cross, Mrs Burnitt & Mr Elliott x

Y11 (C26) GCSE Information Evening

6th September 2023Melissa Cocliff

We would like to invite all Y11 parents to our Y11 GCSE Information Evening at XP East on Tuesday, 12th September from 5:00-6:15pm. 

This evening will focus on providing information about exam layout/content, exam dates, revision/work required for each exam and component. This was a really useful evening last year to ensure parents knew how to best support our wonderful Y11s throughout their GCSEs. Subject leads and teachers will also be around if you have any questions. 

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!

Mel & Angella

C26 Viking Festival POL/COL

7th December 2022Melissa Cocliff

Tomorrow is the day that C26 present their learning from their current expedition, ch-ch-changes.

XP East POL will begin at 4pm, and last until around 5pm.

XP’s POL will begin at 5:30pm, and last until around 6:30pm.

The POL will take place at XP East – please ensure you sign in upon arrival.

Be prepared to go on a whistle stop tour of Scandinavia!

[Please come prepared with warm clothing – some of the POL may be based outdoors!]

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

The C26 Team x

Crew Kahlo putting the hours in at home

12th October 2022Miss Jones

I wanted to show some pieces of work that Olivia, Jessy and Nida have been working on at home.

All three girls have really impressed me with their work ethic and are showing how they ‘Get Smart’.

Olivias Hums work:

Jessy’s artwork:

Nida’s artwork:

Crew Kahlo starting Year 10

2nd October 2022Miss Jones

Crew Kahlo has made a great start to their fourth year at XP (How time flies).

Our crew week was a bit different this year which consisted of:

  • A crew day to check in with each other and set expectations for the year ahead
  • A day of team-building activities to help us communicate and work better together (which we won!)
  • A coastal walk at the lovely Flamborough to have a chance to walk and chat in the lovely fresh air
  • A crew presentation to answer the guiding question ‘How can we get everyone to the top of their mountain?’.
Crew-Kahlo-POL-Slides-Y10-first-week-backDownload

X26 ‘Hold Back The River’ Peak District Fieldwork

9th June 2022Harriet Hickson

Year 9’s current expedition ‘Hold Back the River’ has the guiding question, ‘how does water shape our world?’ 

During this expedition, our geography content is focusing on river characteristics from source to mouth, river processes, formation of landforms as well as the cause, impacts and responses of flooding. As part of this, we are applying the theory of river processes and characteristics to the field. 

On Tuesday 21st June, students will visit Edale in the Peak District, they will work together to collect data regarding the width, depth, velocity and load of rivers. We will also be capturing the beauty of a river by completing artwork.  This data collection will allow us to accept or reject our hypothesis once we have analysed our data in our maths lessons. 

Students will need to arrive at school no later than 8:15am so that the register and kit check can be completed before leaving school.

3 Peak District waterfall walks not to miss

It is also essential that all students bring all of the kit on the KIT LIST so that they are fully prepared for the fieldwork; this includes a packed lunch and water to drink. Students will need to ensure they have suitable walking boots/trainers as well as wellies or a pair of trainers they can get wet – we’ll be going in the river to collect the data!  If there are any problems in getting the appropriate kit before this, please email your child’s Crew Leader. 

Students will be returning to school for 3:15pm (if traffic allows). Please ensure that you complete the ‘Medical Form’ which will be given to students this week and return it to Crew Leaders/expedition teachers as soon as possible.

Many thanks in advance for your support with this!

Link to KIT LIST

Crew Kahlo at the end of Year 9

9th June 2022Miss Jones

As they are coming to the end of Year 9, crew has been reflecting on their year. When thinking about their journey throughout the year, here are some of their highlights.

They have been looking at their HoWLs and AP grades from the last data drop. They have then made pledges each week to focus on small changes they can make to try and improve. Crew holds each other to account during this process, discussing whether they think they have been successful in achieving their pledges.

They have finished their second expedition of the year called ‘Every Picture Tells a Story’ by creating beautiful work. They looked at Islamic tiles and then used rotational symmetry to design their own patterns to paint with acrylic paint.

Here are some examples from Crew Kahlo:

 

Crew also chose their options for ‘Leading Our Own Learning’ that they will be studying next year. The crew has picked a range of options such as Engineering, Citizenship, Psychology, Further maths, ICT / Computing as well as some members of the crew decided to take up the opportunity to join the ‘pushing for 4’ group that will support them with Maths, English, and Science leading up to their exams.

They cant really believe that they are coming to the end of Year 9 and going into Year 10!

X26 (Year 9): First week back reminder

By Miss Jones28th August 2021

Hi X26 – just thought I would add another blog post to remind you all what the plan is for your first week in Year 9 (I can’t believe you’re going to be Year 9’s!!)

Your first day back is Wednesday 1st September and you need to be in school at 8 am (this is because you all need to do a covid test before we set off). You will be out of school all day so you need to come prepared with the following:

  • Backpack
  • Packed lunch (this will be provided for students on FSM)
  • Bottle of water
  • Hiking boots (these should be in your backpack – come to school in your trainers) 
  • Waterproofs (trousers and a jacket)
  • Plastic carrier bag (to keep everything dry in your backpack if it rains)
  • Baselayer top (not cotton)
  • Midlayer top (not cotton)
  • Warm hat
  • Gloves
  • Sun hat
  • Hiking trousers (not cotton)
  • Hiking / thick socks (not cotton)
  • Wellies (or these can be hired on the day for £1)

(All of these items will be used again throughout Year 9 – not just for this week).

We are expected to be back at school between 4.30 pm and 5.00 pm if you need to organise a lift home or plan which bus to catch. 

On Thursday 2nd September you will be in school all day and need to be in for the normal time (8.20-8.30 for crew). You need to make sure you bring your usual school equipment with you (pen, pencil, ruler, and device). Make sure you wear sensible footwear as you will be doing some activities in the sports hall and outside. You will be able to have a school dinner if that’s what you usually do or bring your packed lunch with you.  

School will finish at the usual time of 3.15 pm. 

On Friday 3rd September you need to arrive at school at the normal time for crew (8.20-8.30am) but will be out of school in the morning. You need to bring the same things that you have been asked to bring on Wednesday (apart from wellies – you don’t need those). You also need to bring your equipment and device to use in the afternoon. 

You also need to bring a packed lunch and a bottle of water as we will be out at lunchtime (this will be provided for students on FSM)

School will finish at the usual time of 3.15 pm. 

I hope you have all had a lovely summer break and we will see you all next week!

X26 Fieldwork – Wednesday 16th June

By Hayley Ibbotson8th June 2021

Finally, we are allowed to go on fieldwork! We have managed to squeeze one in before the end of term!!

We are currently doing the expedition “Call the cops”, looking at crime and punishment through time. We will be looking at the introductions of police and prisons, having already looked at crime and how it was dealt with before this!

In order to support our work for the introductions and developments of our system, we have arranged a school trip to Shewsbury Prison. The prison was closed in 2013 and is used for educational purposes now, so rest assured students will not be walking around a working prison with inmates.

The students will take part in being booked in as prisoners, shown around, then participate in an escape room activity! It is an amazing experience and will be extremely beneficial to the expedition!

We will be leaving school at 7:30am on Wednesday 16th June in order to arrive at Shewsbury for 10:30. We are leaving the prison at 14:00 with the hope of arriving back at school between 16:30 – 17:00. This will be a long day for the students, but I am sure they will love it! Please make sure students wear comfortable clothes and take a jacket as it can become cold in the prison and sensible shoes. Students will also need a packed lunch and sufficient water for the day. Please don’t pack any products containing nuts in packed lunches as we are a nut-free school!

Any questions please feel free to email me on [email protected] or your child’s crew leader!

Thank you!

 

 

A busy couple of weeks for crew Kahlo

By Miss Jones3rd May 2021

Well, it’s been a busy couple of weeks in crew. We have been working hard and cracking on.

This week, crew Kahlo has been looking at ‘British Values’ as part of our crew curriculum. We have been learning about how British Values teach us tolerance and respect for others.

We even made a display in our crew room.

We then moved onto looking at the difference between weather and climate. Pupils carried out research into causes of climate change.

I wanted to highlight this beautiful work by Bryan and Jessy. For our current Y8 expedition ‘Wherever I Lay my Hat’ where we have been looking at the artist Luke Dixon for inspiration. Pupils have practiced adding lines and patterns to simplified copies of his work and also using a viewfinder to zoom in on details. I don’t know about you, but I think Jessy’s pencil-tone portrait is absolutely amazing! I only asked for a line drawing – but she went for it! We didn’t want to add any lines (like Luke Dixon does) over this drawing – so we have photocopied her work and she is adding lines to a copy so she has not one but two beautiful pieces of work!

On Thursdays, crew Kahlo has started to think about the HoWLs grades that they would give themselves for that week in each subject area and crew. Pupils critiqued each other’s grades and commented on whether they agreed with them or not. This led to loads of discussion about what ‘work hard’ looks like and how they could try and improve their own ‘get smart’ in lessons. It has been really great to have Mr. Challen in crew with us as he has been able to comment on pupils’ work in their maths lessons.

A very productive couple of weeks crew! Keep up the good work.